Motivating Books to Read

Second "Running with the Legends". If the Steve Jones chapter doesn't get you off your duff...

When I was at my peak at 90-110 mpw, I re-read OAR. Daily. Could quote pages verbatim. Was a challenge during our long runs to see who could recite the book the longest.

I'm not sure how motivating it is, but "God on the Starting Line" by Marc Bloom is a great read. Gives insight about a team's season; also has a bit about religion. To me all books dealing with running kind of motivate me in a way. Also, "The Greatest" is another excellent book about Haile Gebrelassie (I probably misspelled that) that I highly reccomend.

Try to find "Runners and other Dreamers". It is a collection of short stories dealing with runners and boxers. The chapter about Jim Ryun will give you goose bumps.

Ron Hill. The Long Hard Road

Ken Buchanan: The Tartan Ledgend

Boxing but will give you more than most running books. Plus boxing more exiting to read about!

The Perfect Distance

Pat Butcher

"See Dane Run" and the companion web site danerauschenbergcheats.blogspot.com .

Wait... did you mean a running book? Thought you said douche book. My bad.

Top Five Books to Motivate You:

1. Once a Runner, fiction

2. Running with the Buffalos, nonfiction

3. Sub Four, nonfiction

4. Chasing Ghosts, fiction

5. Again to Carthage, fiction

I second Atlas Shrugged and add "Herb Elliot: The Golden Mile", as told to Alan Trengrove. It is as much about Percy Cerutty, Elliot's coach, who, in his sixties, ran workouts on the dunes of Portsea with Herb and others of his stable. It was my greatest influence. Zatopek The Marathon Victor has long been out of print, but is tribute to the spirit of the Czech runner who won the 5k, 10k, and Marathon in the 52 Olympics. You might find it in a library, written by Frantizek Kozik, a journalist who was present at more of Zatopek's races than any other.

Derek Ibbotson was one of the early four minute milers and wrote his own account of the time. Another author wrote "Four-minute Smiler: the Derek Ibbotson story." For today's runners to hear about how relaxing the cigarettes were after the race, or in the tunnel between heats, causes some reflection. Ibbotson ran around 3:56 in the 50s.

There are some not-so-great videos on Youtube showing Cerutty and Snell's coach Lydiard, including the famous 56 Olympic mile which Elliot, who never lost a mile or 1500 race, dominated. Cerutty trained the spirit more than the body. His special diets would probably cause digestion problems for many, but he was an inspiration, winning 50 and 100 mile races well into his 70s, after dropping out the corporate world at around the age fo 50.

Run with the best

It's great to see recent small releases "Chasing Ghosts" and "Running with the Hansons" mentioned on here. Both are very easy reads and compare favorably to OAR/ATC and RWTB.

The Charlie Spedding Book ("Last to First") and the Buddy Edelen Biography ("A Cold Clear Day") are also good.

Joker One

top running

Without Question wrote:

Olympian

I assume Without Question means

The Olympian, by Brian Glanville.

it's a worthy read.

I doubt it's still in print, but there's a book by Joe Newton about motivation that is simply amazing.

[quote]Rachelsdad wrote:

I second Atlas Shrugged and add "Herb Elliot: The Golden Mile", as told to Alan Trengrove. It is as much about Percy Cerutty, Elliot's coach, who, in his sixties, ran workouts on the dunes of Portsea with Herb and others of his stable. It was my greatest influence.

quote]

You beat me to the the Herb Elliot story. But good luck to those trying to find it. My high school library had a copy, and it meant everything to me back then. Also, "Always Young" by George Young is good one that is not as hard to find. I just ordered a book on Glenn Cunningham, which I'm eager to read.

The self made olympian about Ron Daws

The Ghost Runner: The Tragedy of the Man They Couldn't Stop

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Ghost-Runner-Tragedy-They-Couldnt/dp/1845966066

No bugles, No drums

Its a biography by peter snell and how he trained, raced, etc.

Rachelsdad wrote:

There are some not-so-great videos on Youtube showing Cerutty and Snell's coach Lydiard, including the famous 1960 Olympic 1500 which [Elliott], who never lost a mile or 1500 race [after age 14], dominated.

Fixed.

I second The Self-Made Olympian by Ron Daws. Highly motivating, and one of the better explanations of the Lydiard method I have read.

ck3237 wrote:

The self made olympian about Ron Daws